Felting needle



1959 J. J. KELSON 2,873,507

FELTING NEEDLE Filed March 6, 1956 INVENTOR JOHN J. KELSO/V W516), M M

ATTORNEYS United States Patent FELTING NEEDLE John J. Kelson,Torrington, 'Conn., assignor to The Torilqngton Company, Torrington,Conn., a corporation of tune Application March 6, 1956, Serial No.569,879

3 Claims. (Cl. 28-4) The following specification describes in detail animprovement in felting needles. The wide use of synthetic fibers forfelting has introduced new problems. These fibers are shorter thannatural fibers used for felting. It is also desirable to increase thedensity of such felting. A definite problem exists also in the size ofthe holes formed by the conventional felting needles.

A purpose of the present invention is to leave a much smaller impressionthan is created by needles of the conventional shape of an equilateraltriangle.

A further object of the invention is to permit the needle punctures tobe spaced closer together, so that shorter fibers can be used andgreater density of the pile obtained.

A still further object of the invention is to increase the quantity offiber carried into the backing fabric by each individual barb of thefelting needle.

An incidental object of the invention is to reduce the respectivecross-section or diameter of the felting needle Without, however,causing any material loss in the needle strength.

Still further it is an object of the invention to increase tht:1sharpness of the barbs by reducing their individual wi th.

Among the objects of the invention is to facilitate the manufacture offelting needles both as to material and structure.

Other objects of the invention will be evident from the followingdescription of the preferred form as illustrated by way of examples onthe following drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved felting needle, and

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken onthe line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Briefly described the improved felting needle is given a cross-sectionwhich will reduce the size of the hole left in the finished felt, thuspermitting the needle punctures to be closer together. At the same timethe particular form of the needle increases the quantity of fibersintroduced into the backing fabric by each barb. The barbs themselvesmay be shorter than those in felting needles of the usualcross-sectional shapes.

Referring to the drawings I have shown a felting needle comprising ashank 5. This is usually round in cross-section. At one end the shankhas a right angled extension 6 which forms a tang by which the needle isheld in the desired position in the frame for the usual feltingoperation.

The blade proper 7 of the needle terminates in a point 8. The blade 7 isthe portion which normally penetrates the backing fabric which is to befelted. The blade 7 first passes through a hat of loose fiber andcarries as much of such fiber as is possible into the backing layer orfabric to form a pile.

The blade 7 is made in a modified triangular crosssection. In otherwords, three ribs 9, 9, 9 are formed at equally angular spacing. Eachrib has one or a series of staggered barbs 10, 10, 10 which extendradially outward. Each rib is cut away or notched in the usual manner infront of the individual barbs. The barbs on one rib are staggered withrespect to the barbs on the adjacent ribs.

An important feature of the improvement consists in providing concavesides 11, 11 between the adjacent ribs. These are produced by cutting orpunching appropriate grooves in the needle during manufacture. Thegrooves form a substantial concavity between the barbs, as is shown bythe dotted line connecting the adjacent barbs in Fig. 2.

As indicated in Fig. 2, each rib has a blunt or rounded edge which issubstantially semi-circular in cross-section. These edges pierce thefabric backing with minimum tendency to cut or split it. Also the widthof the notch remaining in the rib in front of the barb is such as toreduce the likelihood of breaking the fibers.

As a result of this concavity or the formation of grooves, the diametricwidth of the blade of the needle (see diametric dotted line in Fig. 2)is materially reduced in comparison with the normal altitude of theequilateral triangle connecting the ribs and as indicated by the seconddotted line in Fig. 2.

It has been found that making the sides of the needle grooved or concaveand giving it a cross-section such as illustrated in Fig. 2, can be donewithout material loss in strength due to the normal, retained distancebetween the ribs.

It will also be apparent that by grooving the sides of the needle, thebarbs will have less width and thus engage a greater quantity of theshort fibers to be felted.

Due to the reduced diametric width of the needle, the needle strokeswill cause less displacement of the material in the felted bat orfabric. This will mean smaller holes are made in the material and thatneedle strokes can be spaced closer together. Consequently a greateramount of felting fiber can be put in position over the area treated.

The use of the particular form of felting needle above described willhave evident advantages, as already stated. It will also be apparentthat numerous changes in size, proportion and material are possiblewithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. A felting needle having three angularly spaced ribs having thickrounded outer edges and intermediate fiberreceiving longitudinalrecesses and forwardly directed barbs on each rib.

2. A felting needle having three angularly spaced ribs having thickrounded outer edges and barbs on each rib, the needle beinglongitudinally channeled opposite each rib.

3. A felting needle having a shank of circular crosssection, threeequally spaced longitudinal ribs separated by grooves, said ribs havingthick rounded outer edges spaced inwardly of the extension of theperiphery of the shank, longitudinally spaced barbs on the ribsprojecting into the said periphery, said barbs also being rounded incross-section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS461,602 Boult Oct. 20, 1891 469,762 Whipple Mar. 1, 1892 2,663,065Dinham Dec. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,474 Great Britain of 1884

